Hi everyone, I just bought a 2004 Ford escape v6 from a friend of mine, she has used the car in Nigeria for 3yrs. The problem here is I would like to change the fluids in the car but my friend does not know what fluids are presently in car as she can't reach the mechanic that helped her with the last changes 2yrs ago

The transmission fluid look light brown or brownish red, smells bad

The engine oil looks black and smells awful

No coolant in the radiator reservoir, just water with rusty color.


I would like to put the car back in top shape, I have been reading a lot on this section and elsewhere but I am still confused.

TRANSMISSION

1. The recommend atf is mercon and I have decided to settle for pureguard atf that is mercon, mercon lv and mercon v compatible.
My fear is do I do a complete flush of the oil smelling atf (slight burnt smell when it's hot) or do I ask my mechanic to do drain and fill with about 10 quarts

Engine Oil

I have settled for milemaster semi synthetic 5w20 I found on konga, I don't want to go for full synthetic because I don't know what the previous engine oil is.
Also should I use one of these engine oil flush, the more I read about the more confused I am
I also settled for motorcraft oil filler.

Coolant

I can't find the Gold color HOAT coolant so I have decided to used OAT green freeztone coolant that is non alcohol based.



I would like you guys to guys me right because all I know is what I read. Decotech, GAZZUZZ, Siena, lomomike,
Ikenna351, sultaan Delafruita, abatically IdaraCHODB, nurey. pls help

I also read on this section where GAZZUZZ told someone not to buy milemaster, I don't know if the advice was for that specific honda or milemaster is generally a bad engine oil. Pls help a sister o

from my experience with the ford escape,the transmission needs serious care.I would advice you do a comprehensive scan first.then thorough servicing.recommended transmission fluid should be mercon III which isn't readily available so I opted for Dextron III.

Delafruita:
.recommended transmission fluid should be mercon III which isn't readily available so I opted for Dextron III.

Wrong choice.

For the 2004 Ford Escape, the tranny fluid is Mercon V

@ IyaIode, I'm currently in Abia state. If you are in Lagos, pls find Gazzuzz.

DECOtech:

Wrong choice.
For the 2004 Ford Escape, the tranny fluid is Mercon V

I thought as much. I am in Lagos. Thanks for your input

Delafruita:
from my experience with the ford escape,the transmission needs serious care.I would advice you do a comprehensive scan first.then thorough servicing.recommended transmission fluid should be mercon III which isn't readily available so I opted for Dextron III.

I think it's mercon v or lv. Does the Dextron III run smoothly in your escape

IyaIode:
Hi everyone, I just bought a 2004 Ford escape v6 from a friend of mine, she has used the car in Nigeria for 3yrs. The problem here is I would like to change the fluids in the car but my friend does not know what fluids are presently in car as she can't reach the mechanic that helped her with the last changes 2yrs ago

The transmission fluid look light brown or brownish red, smells bad

The engine oil looks black and smells awful

No coolant in the radiator reservoir, just water with rusty color.


I would like to put the car back in top shape, I have been reading a lot on this section and elsewhere but I am still confused.

TRANSMISSION

1. The recommend atf is mercon and I have decided to settle for pureguard atf that is mercon, mercon lv and mercon v compatible.
My fear is do I do a complete flush of the oil smelling atf (slight burnt smell when it's hot) or do I ask my mechanic to do drain and fill with about 10 quarts

Engine Oil

I have settled for milemaster semi synthetic 5w20 I found on konga, I don't want to go for full synthetic because I don't know what the previous engine oil is.
Also should I use one of these engine oil flush, the more I read about the more confused I am
I also settled for motorcraft oil filler.

Coolant

I can't find the Gold color HOAT coolant so I have decided to used OAT green freeztone coolant that is non alcohol based.



I would like you guys to guys me right because all I know is what I read. Decotech, GAZZUZZ, Siena, lomomike,
Ikenna351, sultaan Delafruita, abatically IdaraCHODB, nurey. pls help

Read a little here before you switch to 5W20

https://www.nairaland.com/2461969/switching-mineral-oil-synthetic-caused#2461969.24

Delafruita:
from my experience with the ford escape,the transmission needs serious care.I would advice you do a comprehensive scan first.then thorough servicing.recommended transmission fluid should be mercon III which isn't readily available so I opted for Dextron III.

Don't use Dextron in place of mercon Dextron is GM and Mercon is Ford it is better to check if it meets the spec for Ford when you use the pureguard check if they wrote meets ford spec
http://www.fordparts.com/Products/Chemicals-TransmissionFluids.aspx

IyaIode:
Hi everyone, I just bought a 2004 Ford escape v6 from a friend of mine, she has used the car in Nigeria for 3yrs. The problem here is I would like to change the fluids in the car but my friend does not know what fluids are presently in car as she can't reach the mechanic that helped her with the last changes 2yrs ago

The transmission fluid look light brown or brownish red, smells bad

The engine oil looks black and smells awful

No coolant in the radiator reservoir, just water with rusty color.


I would like to put the car back in top shape, I have been reading a lot on this section and elsewhere but I am still confused.

TRANSMISSION

1. The recommend atf is mercon and I have decided to settle for pureguard atf that is mercon, mercon lv and mercon v compatible.
My fear is do I do a complete flush of the oil smelling atf (slight burnt smell when it's hot) or do I ask my mechanic to do drain and fill with about 10 quarts

Engine Oil

I have settled for milemaster semi synthetic 5w20 I found on konga, I don't want to go for full synthetic because I don't know what the previous engine oil is.
Also should I use one of these engine oil flush, the more I read about the more confused I am
I also settled for motorcraft oil filler.

Coolant

I can't find the Gold color HOAT coolant so I have decided to used OAT green freeztone coolant that is non alcohol based.



I would like you guys to guys me right because all I know is what I read. Decotech, GAZZUZZ, Siena, lomomike,
Ikenna351, sultaan Delafruita, abatically IdaraCHODB, nurey. pls help

Will revert in the next 24 hours. Seen!

I am not much of a guru, the main thing I want you to note is the burnt smell of the transmission fluid, I have noticed here on nairaland that most people who drain the ATF end up changing the whole gear completely because draining would now bring out the problem of the gear/burnt gear components.

Also concerning the engine oil, let's suppose the former owner has been using 20W50 reason I said this is that all my life I have seen reckless people give good cars to mechanic, the engine oil the mechanics use is the mobile 20w50 they always buy. would advice you go back to the recommended in a steady way maybe 10w first then later on 5w because the 20w would have done it's damage already. find a competent mechanic to help confirm this.

since we don't get snow in naija you can use the total coolant without antifreeze it has been tested and trusted.

just my observation

nurey:
I am not much of a guru, the main thing I want you to note is the burnt smell of the transmission fluid, I have noticed here on nairaland that most people who drain the ATF end up changing the whole gear completely because draining would now bring out the problem of the gear/burnt gear components.

Also concerning the engine oil, let's suppose the former owner has been using 20W50 reason I said this is that all my life I have seen reckless people give good cars to mechanic, the engine oil the mechanics use is the mobile 20w50 they always buy. would advice you go back to the recommended in a steady way maybe 10w first then later on 5w because the 20w would have done it's damage already. find a competent mechanic to help confirm this.

since we don't get snow in naija you can use the total coolant without antifreeze it has been tested and trusted.

just my observation

Thanks for your assistance

1. I should do drain and fill for the atf with the recommend mercon v


2. For engine oil, I should 10w first, pls can you recommend one for me

IdaraCHODB:

Will revert in the next 24 hours. Seen!

I will be waiting

GAZZUZZ:


Read a little here before you switch to 5W20

https://www.nairaland.com/2461969/switching-mineral-oil-synthetic-caused#2461969.24

pls which engine oil will your recommend, it's scary what I read from that thread. I think the previous owner used mobile 20w50.

@Iyalode

You have to be careful when people condemn certain brands or viscosities without providing any empirical evidence. If 5w-20 or 5w-30 is bad why then is this the standard viscosity recommended by the car manufacturers?

Those who are complaining of these viscosities do their experiences represent the majority or minority? You will notice if you search well on this forum that for every one person who complains there are several more who are not.

There are people who complained of these viscosities only to later discover that their cars had unresolved issues that were highlighted and not created by these oils.

Please do not limit yourself to the info available on Nairaland. There are several other places where you can get information on oils and their viscosities and how non conformity affects your particular vehicle.

Try and join Ford forums where you will access a lot of information about your particular car.

Below are links for the specified oil viscosities and oil filters for fords from 1997 - 2015

http://www.ilma.org/resources/chart_oil_recommendations.pdf

https://www.fcsdchemicalsandlubricants.com/main/quickref/oilchart.pdf

That should take the guess work out.

IyaIode:

pls which engine oil will your recommend, it's scary what I read from that thread. I think the previous owner used mobile 20w50.

You might want to read this thread so that you have a balanced view.
https://www.nairaland.com/1974986/used-milemaster-5w-30-oil-before

[quote author=IyaIode post=36367062]Hi everyone, I just bought a 2004 Ford escape v6 from a friend of mine, she has used the car in Nigeria for 3yrs. The problem here is I would like to change the fluids in the car but my friend does not know what fluids are presently in car as she can't reach the mechanic that helped her with the last changes 2yrs ago

The transmission fluid look light brown or brownish red, smells bad

The engine oil looks black and smells awful

No coolant in the radiator reservoir, just water with rusty color.


I would like to put the car back in top shape, I have been reading a lot on this section and elsewhere but I am still confused.

TRANSMISSION

1. The recommend atf is mercon and I have decided to settle for pureguard atf that is mercon, mercon lv and mercon v compatible.
My fear is do I do a complete flush of the oil smelling atf (slight burnt smell when it's hot) or do I ask my mechanic to do drain and fill with about 10 quarts

Engine Oil

I have settled for milemaster semi synthetic 5w20 I found on konga, I don't want to go for full synthetic because I don't know what the previous engine oil is.
Also should I use one of these engine oil flush, the more I read about the more confused I am
I also settled for motorcraft oil filler.

Coolant

I can't find the Gold color HOAT coolant so I have decided to used OAT green freeztone coolant that is non alcohol based.



I would like you guys to guys me right because all I know is what I read. Decotech, GAZZUZZ, Siena, lomomike,
Ikenna351, sultaan Delafruita, abatically IdaraCHODB, nurey. pls help

[I drive a Ford Escape 2009 and I use a dexron III ATF for it despite Mercon IV is specified for it. It is equivalent for Mercon IV and it has not given any issue since I have been using it. For the engine oil, despite you don't have the knowledge of the previous oil the former owner was using, I will advice you to flush the engine to clean it properly and the use the right oil for it which is 5W20 full synthetic. You are safe with the engine flush as long as it is quality. The full synthetic will give you peace of mind]

[quote author=Segzie8180 post=36400057][/quote] Thanks, I should go for full synthetic 5w20, I will search for Mobil 1

anneki:


You might want to read this thread so that you have a balanced view. https://www.nairaland.com/1974986/used-milemaster-5w-30-oil-before

Wow, can out of that thread more educated and confused.

appleshop:
@Iyalode

You have to be careful when people condemn certain brands or viscosities without providing any empirical evidence. If 5w-20 or 5w-30 is bad why then is this the standard viscosity recommended by the car manufacturers?

Those who are complaining of these viscosities do their experiences represent the majority or minority? You will notice if you search well on this forum that for every one person who complains there are several more who are not.

There are people who complained of these viscosities only to later discover that their cars had unresolved issues that were highlighted and not created by these oils.

Please do not limit yourself to the info available on Nairaland. There are several other places where you can get information on oils and their viscosities and how non conformity affects your particular vehicle.

Try and join Ford forums where you will access a lot of information about your particular car.

Thanks, I have joined one of those foruns

IyaIode:

Thanks for your assistance

1. I should do drain and fill for the atf with the recommend mercon v


2. For engine oil, I should 10w first, pls can you recommend one for me

as much as I really want to help you, I won't ask you not to drain the ATF but remember draining and refilling of atf is manufacturer specific, so research on how to drain the ATF so it can be done correctly. and please use the specified atf except the manufacturer recommends an alternative where the recommended one isn't available. don't follow I use and it works theory.

As the former owner has been using 20W50 using the recommended let's say 5W20 or 5W30 can cause severe damaged to already weakened engine components. I have not heard of engine flush or what one poster recommended but you can also research on that.

I use MRS engine oil which is rated as full synthetic they have two types
1. 5W40 @6600 which I have used for 1and half years for my sienna
2. 10W40 @ 6400
they are both 5litres

This might help
http://www.ilma.org/resources/docs/motorcraftoilapplicationscrankcasecapacitieschart.pdf

IyaIode:

Thanks for your assistance

1. I should do drain and fill for the atf with the recommend mercon v


2. For engine oil, I should 10w first, pls can you recommend one for me

Pls first fill the gear box with the recommended atf. drive around (2/3 km), flush out, then refill again with the same required oil (new one)
Don't ever joke with ur atf. U may end up in wahala.

For the engine oil pls use the required oil since it's ur best option.
If the engine and transmission are in good condition u won't have any problem

superb advice has beeen given here,
if you switch to synthetic/ semi synthetic..........since it has detergent properties...and u aint sure of what the previous owner had in there all this while...i wud advice you to run the sythethic oil for just 200 to 300 miles...best if most of the miles is at highway speeds...then drain,,,replace filter and then refill with the recommended oil.........this is cos the synth oil will clean the engine and its not good to hv all those junk floating around in the system for long...[am almost certain the previous owner was using 20w 50 oil]

for ur transmission..my advice in such cases is to leave it alone, since the car is driving fine.......most abused trannys have failed immediately after changing the fluid cos of .....omo i no get strength to write plenty.........

so as i was saying only change the bad fluid if ur car is having drivability issues, thus you dont hv anything to loose if the tranny packs up immediately after the change

DECOtech:


Wrong choice.

For the 2004 Ford Escape, the tranny fluid is Mercon V

@ IyaIode, I'm currently in Abia state. If you are in Lagos, pls find Gazzuzz.

I have been longer than the 24 hours I promised, but I will do you justice, I will give you the facts the way a lawyer would do before a court in hopes of winning a case. I rather delay than give you a half-hearted response, I delayed because I had my own battles to fight!

Fact: It seems with due respect to my brother that I am quoting that Mercon V may not be the appropriate choice for that vehicle, unless you can somehow guarantee that the Mercon V is indeed the reformulation not the initial

Line of proof:"... in the older Escapes, 2001 to 2004, using Mercon V before the reformulation caused the transmission to have problems, mainly during shifting and in the 40 to 50 mph range with the torque converter engaging and disengaging."

For further information, please read here:http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1093136-ford-escape-transmission-fluid.html

You should be worried and you are rightly worried because the vehicle contains a CD4E transmission and it is known to have issues, see here why I say so: http://www.carcomplaints.com/Ford/Escape/2004/transmission/transmission_failure.shtml

But you can protect your investment(s) by following the following recommendations:
1. http://etereman.com/blog/ford-transmission-2/the-ford-cd4e-your-most-burning-questions-answered

2. http://etereman.com/blog/ford-transmission-2/cd4e-transmission-ford-escape-slipping

3. http://etereman.com/blog/ford-transmission-2/things-you-can-do-to-extend-the-life-of-the-cd4e-transmission-in-your-ford-escape

4. http://etereman.com/blog/transmission-care/the-top-5-most-replaced-automatic-transmissions. Forget the first 3 and the last one, just read up on the 4th


Summary: heat is a serious problem with this transmission, so try and get an auxiliary ATF cooler like Setrab or Mocal or Trucool and also use synthetic ATF, CAUSE you are dealing with finicky and rather delicate as opposed to rugged transmission here.

Also disconnect your ATF Cooler lines and use this product Lubegard 19001 Dr. Tranny Kooler Kleen Transmission Line Flush and compressed air to clear out all the debris so that it can give you its maximum cooling effect since the tranny has a cooling deficiency right from the factory

IyaIode:
I also read on this section where GAZZUZZ told someone not to buy milemaster, I don't know if the advice was for that specific honda or milemaster is generally a bad engine oil. Pls help a sister o

I have said elsewhere in this forum that I prefer Mobil 1 to Milemaster, so please get Mobil 1 of the recommended viscosity, I have not researched but it should be 5w-20 or 5w-30

I read somewhere that a certain company never changed their oil for over 200,000 miles but kept changing and topping up the fluid every 6,000 miles to save money and they had no issues

How does that apply to you? Since you do not know the history of service of the ride, buy 5 oil filters and replace the oil filters every 1,000 miles but not the oil, all you need to do is to top it up.

I strongly feel that you will not run into issues and so after that aggressive oil filter change routine, you can return to the factory recommended oil and oil filter service routine

nurey:
I am not much of a guru, the main thing I want you to note is the burnt smell of the transmission fluid, I have noticed here on nairaland that most people who drain the ATF end up changing the whole gear completely because draining would now bring out the problem of the gear/burnt gear components.

Also concerning the engine oil, let's suppose the former owner has been using 20W50 reason I said this is that all my life I have seen reckless people give good cars to mechanic, the engine oil the mechanics use is the mobile 20w50 they always buy. would advice you go back to the recommended in a steady way maybe 10w first then later on 5w because the 20w would have done it's damage already. find a competent mechanic to help confirm this.

since we don't get snow in naija you can use the total coolant without antifreeze it has been tested and trusted.

just my observation

Nurey is right, now let me add the following:

The name of the game here is not abrupt change of the operating circumstances of the transmission but progressive change. If you can follow the instructions here and change a maximum of 2L or about 2 Quart every week for the next 4 to 8 weeks it all depends on your pocket, the colour of the fluid will change. Note: When you drop 2L or about 2 Quart of the old, put in an equivalent of the new!


You could use the drain plug as recommended here: http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2640192

Here is how I would recommend that you do it:

http://www.fordwiki.co.uk/index.php?title=CD4E_Oil_change_%28Mondeo_Mk1/2/3%29 OR here http://www.fordforumsonline.com/threads/cd4e-transmission-fluid-change.455/

Set a reminder on your phone or in the vehicle to absolutely check the ATF condition every 5,000 miles at the very worst, and at the very best once every week, the moment it starts turning brown or smelling burnt, throw all calculations of mileage out of the window and simply replace the ATF! Trust me, I have driven vehicles with this transmission and you must not joke with this piece of advice!!

Also read here http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2640192 and here http://www.escape-city.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=40&start=30 and finally here http://www.contour.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=tranny&Number=655008( i guess this last one is almost a Bible on your transmission!)

All the best!

cretin:
superb advice has beeen given here,
if you switch to synthetic/ semi synthetic..........since it has detergent properties...and u aint sure of what the previous owner had in there all this while...i wud advice you to run the sythethic oil for just 200 to 300 miles...best if most of the miles is at highway speeds...then drain,,,replace filter and then refill with the recommended oil.........this is cos the synth oil will clean the engine and its not good to hv all those junk floating around in the system for long...[am almost certain the previous owner was using 20w 50 oil]

for ur transmission..my advice in such cases is to leave it alone, since the car is driving fine.......most abused trannys have failed immediately after changing the fluid cos of .....omo i no get strength to write plenty.........

so as i was saying only change the bad fluid if ur car is having drivability issues, thus you dont hv anything to loose if the tranny packs up immediately after the change

He has advised you well on the engine oil side of things. After putting in the oil, not good enough to do local town runs, meaning anything under 20 miles (32 kilometers), drive the vehicle till the engine becomes hot at highway speeds for distances between 50 miles ( 80 kilometers) to make up at least 1/2 to 1/3 of the 200 to 300 miles he advises before doing the oil filter changes I recommended and oil top ups.

I most respectfully disagree with him on the ATF side of things and my previous posts have explained why!

IdaraCHODB:


I have been longer than the 24 hours I promised, but I will do you justice, I will give you the facts the way a lawyer would do before a court in hopes of winning a case. I rather delay than give you a half-hearted response, I delayed because I had my own battles to fight!

Fact: It seems with due respect to my brother that I am quoting that Mercon V may not be the appropriate choice for that vehicle, unless you can somehow guarantee that the Mercon V is indeed the reformulation not the initial

Line of proof:"... in the older Escapes, 2001 to 2004, using Mercon V before the reformulation caused the transmission to have problems, mainly during shifting and in the 40 to 50 mph range with the torque converter engaging and disengaging."

For further information, please read here:http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1093136-ford-escape-transmission-fluid.html

You should be worried and you are rightly worried because the vehicle contains a CD4E transmission and it is known to have issues, see here why I say so: http://www.carcomplaints.com/Ford/Escape/2004/transmission/transmission_failure.shtml

But you can protect your investment(s) by following the following recommendations:
1. http://etereman.com/blog/ford-transmission-2/the-ford-cd4e-your-most-burning-questions-answered

2. http://etereman.com/blog/ford-transmission-2/cd4e-transmission-ford-escape-slipping

3. http://etereman.com/blog/ford-transmission-2/things-you-can-do-to-extend-the-life-of-the-cd4e-transmission-in-your-ford-escape

4. http://etereman.com/blog/transmission-care/the-top-5-most-replaced-automatic-transmissions. Forget the first 3 and the last one, just read up on the 4th

Summary: heat is a serious problem with this transmission, so try and get an auxiliary ATF cooler like Setrab or Mocal or Trucool and also use synthetic ATF, CAUSE you are dealing with finicky and rather delicate as opposed to rugged transmission here.

Also disconnect your ATF Cooler lines and use this product Lubegard 19001 Dr. Tranny Kooler Kleen Trasmission Line Flush and compressed air to clear out all the debris so that it can give you its maximum cooling effect since the tranny has a cooling deficiency right from the factory

I have gone through the links you posted and seen that none is later than 2013

Have you taken a look at your transmission fluid dipstick before?

Any transmission that has Mercon as recommended ATF can also use Mercon V cos Mercon V is an improved formulation of the Mercon series of ATF

God bless you.

DECOtech:



I have gone through the links you posted and seen that none is later than 2013

Have you taken a look at your transmission fluid dipstick before?

Any transmission that has Mercon as recommended ATF can also use Mercon V cos Mercon V is an improved formulation of the Mercon series of ATF

God bless you.

Let me clarify my earlier post.

From my earlier post, two kinds of Mercon V exist, the one that was incompatible with the vehicle in question and the one that is.

One thing is certain at least since this Ford TSB 06-14-4 the position you canvass that Mercon V is compatible with the vehicle in question is right, while my position that Mercon is compatible is wrong (at least in the sense of lack of availability).

In other words, note that Ford TSB 06-14-4 supercedes the position in Ford TSB 01-15-7 and that effective July 1, 2007 Mercon V is the recommended ATF.

My point then is just ensure the date of manufacture of the Mercon V is from and after July 1, 2007 and not before.

Thanks Decotech and keep up the good work.

IdaraCHODB:


I have said elsewhere in this forum that I prefer Mobil 1 to Milemaster, so please get Mobil 1 of the recommended viscosity, I have not researched but it should be 5w-20 or 5w-30.

The recommended viscosity is 5w-20, secondly the manual say motorcraft synthetic blend, is it still advisable to go for full synthetic Mobil 1

I read somewhere that a certain company never changed their oil for over 200,000 miles but kept changing and topping up the fluid every 6,000 miles to save money and they had no issues

How does that apply to you? Since you do not know the history of service of the ride, buy 5 oil filters and replace the oil filters every 1,000 miles but not the oil, all you need to do is to top it up.

I strongly feel that you will not run into issues and so after that aggressive oil filter change routine, you can return to the factory recommended oil and oil filter service routine

Pls I need to get this straight, are you saying I should leave the present oil and Change the filter 5 times or I should change to Mobil 1 and Change my filter 5 times.

Thanks for your assistance, looking forward to your response

IdaraCHODB:


Also disconnect your ATF Cooler lines and use this product Lubegard 19001 Dr. Tranny Kooler Kleen Trasmission Line Flush and compressed air to clear out all the debris so that it can give you its maximum cooling effect since the tranny has a cooling deficiency right from the factory

Please where can I get this done in lagos.